A Guide to Greek Wine Greek Food A Guide to Greek Wine There is more to Greek wine than Retsina and Domestica. The Greeks have been making wine longer than anyone and until recently they have been keeping it for themselves. The economic crisis has changed this and suddenly Greek wines are earning the international respect they deserve. I am a wine drinker. My favorite earthly activity is eating in a taverna with my friends and drinking wine, especially Greek wine, whether it is from the bottle, barrel or the box. Some of my favorite tavernas have their own wine, straight out of the barrels, which are usually stacked against the wall. We order it by the kilo and we can go through several kilos in an evening. Glasses are continually being refilled by each other without anything being said. It's like a reflex or second nature to fill your neighbors glass when you see it is empty. And when the carafe is empty someone at the table just lifts it in the air and catches the eye of a waiter, the busboy or even the owner of the restaurant and in thirty seconds it is full again. Retsina used to be my preferred wine and once in awhile if you are lucky, that is what is available in those barrels.

But many tavernas these days have turned away from retsina and are making excellent wines, often as good or better than any well known commercial bottled brands, (though you can find yourself in a taverna where the barrel wine is awful). Most restaurants are proud of their wine though not all the restaurants make their own. Some buy it from distillers by the barrel or by large jug, and in some touristy restaurants homemade wine, or hima, as it is called, is not even available and you have to take your chances with the wine list. Lately many restaurants have been buying bulk wine in boxes and filling the carafes from them. But before you get upset I want to reassure you that many of these boxed wines are pretty good and in some cases it is the same bulk wine the restaurants have always had, but now it comes in boxes. But walking into a restaurant and seeing barrels stacked is often a sign that they make their own wine and you should try that first before you try any bottled wine they may have. My rule is to always ask for local wine (doh-pio) and then ask for hee-ma or wine in a carafe (kara-faki) and hope for the best.

It is rare that I will get a house wine so bad that I send it back and order a bottle from the wine list, but it does happen. I always ask if it's good (ee-neh kalo?) and they always say absolutely (veh-vay-os). But what else are they gonna say? It's terrible? There are also many farmers on the islands who are bottling their own wine and you can often find them in tavernas and in the various traditional shops, supermarkets and even in the bakery. About Retsina There have been many explanations as to why retsina tastes the way it does. The explanation is because they put pine resin in it to make it taste like that and the reason is because they like the taste. Some people have come up with theories on how this all began. According to Vassilis Kourtakis, who makes the most popular of the bottled retsina, the ancient Greeks knew that the air was the enemy of wine and used pine resin to seal the tops of the amphora and even added it to the wine itself. When we were teenagers we were told that during the Second World War, the Greeks put resin in the good wines so the Germans who occupied the country would not like it.

That was nonsense. Then as we became more wise we came up with the theory that since there were mostly pine trees in Greece they stored the wine in pine barrels and so it tasted like pine resin and rather than figure out how to get rid of the taste they decided it was easier just to learn to like it. That is a little more reasonable an explanation but probably not accurate. Yiannis Yannarakis (photo), my brilliant computer nerd friend, finally gave me a believable explanation for why the Greeks drink retsina and why they became ashamed of it. Yiannis said that the resin was put into the wine as a preservative in small amounts. But if the wine was bad they would put in larger amounts to mask the taste and gradually the Greeks began to like it as did many of the early tourists. They would also preserve with sugar and that is where you get Mavrodaphne and the sweet wines from Samos. But visitors always poked fun at retsina, saying things like it "tastes like turpentine but not as good" and things like that, which probably gave the Greeks a complex about it. Eventually as wine making methods in Greece improved everyone was making good wine and some people were making excellent wine.

Retsina was looked down upon as being more working class, a sort of embarrassment to the world of wine. But I know poets and visionaries who have always loved retsina, even bad retsina, and their taste is being vindicated because it is making a comeback. In a way the same thing happened with ouzo which about ten years ago became fashionable and we saw the change from screwcap to corked bottles, with brands like Plomari and Mini. Watch for the same thing to happen with retsina. Right now you can get retsina in beer bottles, and plastic water bottles as well as the normal wine bottles, but Kexrimpari comes in a Mateuse type bottle and that is a sure sign that Retsina is on its way back. The reason Retsina is so well known outside of Greece is because it was the regional wine of Attika and so it was the wine of Athens. When travelers came to Greece this is what the locals were drinking and so it was the wine that people talked about or brought back with them and so the whole country of Greece became associated with retsina for better or worse.

As far back as the late 1800's Athens had over 6000 tavernas, all filled with wine barrels. The grapes were pressed in the countryside and then brought into the city by horse-drawn carts, before the fermentation had taken place and then taken to the restaurants where the proprietor poured in the resin and decided when the wine was ready. It was not until the 1960's that bottled retsina became available in the countryside and common in the city as many of the old tavernas disappeared and land for cultivating wine near Athens became scarce. If you want to get a feeling for the way Athens was in the sixties and even drink some pretty good retsina you can go to Oinopoulion Taverna in Psiri (photo) which is owned by the Markos Winery of Attika. It has a great atmosphere and some excellent wines from the 'barrel' and bottled, as well as live rembetika music in an historic taverna. Nowadays retsina from the barrel is hit or miss. In fact they may call it retsina even if it is just the local barrel wine.

But if you go to a taverna and it is full of happy Greek people drinking from glasses that are being refilled over and over again from a carafe then chances are the retsina (or whatever) is pretty good. When it's not, mix it with soda water like I do. This also will enable you to drink all night long. One of the things I have noticed is that I can drink a lot of retsina and still not be hung over the next day. My kidneys may hurt like hell but otherwise I feel great, considering. As for where you can get good retsina from the barrel, this is a question I am asked fairly often especially by people who lived in Greece in the sixties and came back 50 years later and wonder where all the retsina went. Most neighborhoods will have a kava (wine and spirit shop) and there will be wine from the barrel and probably retsina and you can taste it before you buy.

In my neighborhood of Kypseli there is a basement kava called H Pigi Tou Dionysiou (photo) on a small street called Xanthis near the intersection with Lelas Karagiani a block or so north of Fokionos Negri and he has very good retsina in the barrel. (It is right next door to Petalo Taverna.) My current favorite bottled retsina is called Repsene, which comes from Iraklion, Crete and is sold in plastic water bottles at my local bakaliko. I have been drinking it every night since I came to Kea and even if I open a bottle of my favorite wines I end up going back to the retsina. Maybe it has ruined my subtle taste buds. I don't care. I wake up feeling fine and it tastes good with everything I have eaten. Rolando is thinking about carrying it in his restaurant and one day I saw Yannis buy two bottles for his taverna next door. When I was in Athens with Pandelis Melissinos we discovered a retsina called Kexrimpari, from Thessaloniki, which was similar in taste.

One Saturday night though we went to Yiannis taverna because he roasted a whole pig and we drank the popular bottled retsina called Malamatina which we can get in the USA and for most people is the only retsina they ever tasted (along with Kourtaki) and it did not taste anywhere near as good as the other two labels. Karela Retsina comes from Patras and was sold in the USA in 4-liter bottles wrapped in a basket and more recently I have seen it in bottles. I don't know if you can find it where you live or in Greece but I have seen it advertised in the states and it has won some awards as the best retsina. Domaine Papagiannakos Retsina is made with Savatiano grapes from Attika. �Modern retsinas are very well vinified wines, and the resin is added to supply the wine with the aromas of the pine forest, not to cover bad wines. Chill it well and sip it with meze like dolmades, spanakopita, tzatziki and calamari,� says Owner/Winemaker Vassilis Papagiannakos.

Gaia�s Ritinitis Nobilis is made from Roditis grapes and a small amount of pine resin and has a faint smell of eucalyptus. THE ILLUSTRATED GREEK WINES BOOK I have a new hero. Nico Manessis has written an amazing book on Greek wines called THE ILLUSTRATED GREEK WINES BOOK. The book is a labor of love and anyone with an interest in Greek wines should buy it and treasure it because not only will it be invaluable when confronted with a wine list in one of the more touristy restaurants, but you will end up spending a great amount of time reading the histories, descriptions and explanations of the world of Greek wine, a world that is just starting to be discovered and appreciated. Even now Greek wines are finding their way into wine shops and gourmet food shops all over the United States and this book will help you choose a Greek wine that is perfect for you. It is currently out of print but I found a few copies on Amazon.com and if you find it at an affordable price you should buy it because who knows if it will ever be reprinted? This is a very valuable book for anyone who buys, sells or drinks Greek wine.

If you are interested in tasting the large variety of wines in Greece I urge you to purchase this book which reviews hundreds of wines in all different varieties. You may find a used copy on Amazon. In the meantime you can check out his website at These are the bottled Retsinas which Mr. Manessis likes: Boutaris: Light and fruity and lightly resonated. C.A.I.R.: Low acidity and soft. Refreshing with a light touch and sweetness that sticks to the gums. Cambas: Medium pungency and a good Savatiano finish. Gaia: The most refined bottled retsina on the market. Traditionalists find it heretic but those new to retsina like it just fine. Kourtakis: The market leader, medium to strong pungency and is sold world-wide. Malamamatinas: Pungent and popular labels from northern Greece sometimes mixed with soda water to individual taste. Thebes Co-op: Excellent, dependable and refreshing Tsantalis: Medium pungent and popular with Germans Tyrnavos Co-op: Faint muscat aroma, one of the finest retsinas on the market. They make two: Retsinaki and Ampelophyllo.

Favorite Wines of Nico Manessis These are the wines Nico Manessis has rated four-star and above. You won't find them everywhere and when you do they won't be cheap especially if the dollar keeps losing fground to the euro. Since the book has been out of print for a number of years expect to pay a lot for any of these if you can even find them. Antonopoulos Chardonnay: Green gold in color. Lime and sweet oak on the nose. Lemon fruity richness-a palate full of roasted hazelnuts. Elegant. World class. Antonopoulos 1997 Cabernet-Nea Dris: Playful nose features eucalyptus and red berries. Balanced, multi-layered, ripe tannins. Dazzling concentration, freshness and depth. Best from 2002. Arghyros 1998 Santorini Vareli: Nose reminiscent of Chardonnay and lemon. Spice and white pepper on the palate. Yeasty. Toasty. Atypical. A cosmopolitan Santorini. World Class. Dalmaras 1992 Naoussa: Deep color. A complete nose alternating mulberry and leather.

Compact, velvety smooth tannins have a gamy richness. A great bottle, best from 2000. 1997 Gaia Estate: Delivering both power and velvety texture, this serious, fine, unfiltered wine has raised the stakes in the Nemea Appellation. Best after 2004. The 1998 vintage-tasted in cask- is even more concentrated. Lazaridis Amethystos Cava: Almost black. Pure fruit evokes the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Skillful use of oak. Exquisite, long, smoky end-taste. Unfiltered. Much finesse. Tselepos 1998 Mantinia: Seductive, exotic, floral nose. Violets bursting with grapes and fruit on the palate. Extended bone-dry Muscat aftertaste and searing acidity that goes on and on. A bold Mantinia from this ultra-ripe vintage. Recently in a conversation (on Facebook actually) with Mr Manessis he added this information on Retsina: "Other noteworthy retsina's include: Papagiannakos, Gaia's Ritinitis Nobilis, Tetramythos.

Though pricey, the daddy of them all is '' To dakri tou Pefkou'' by Stelios Kechris who also makes the splendid Kechribari." Matt's Favorite Wines Methymneos The island of Lesvos was renown in antiquity for it's wine. It is claimed the island had the finest soil and climate for growing grapes and the wine from Lesvos was the most treasured in the wine cellars of the Byzantine Emperor. Unfortunately a blight killed all the grapes on the island and wine-making on Lesvos died out, one reason why ouzo is now the drink of choice there. But in the remote agricultural village of Xidera something very special has happened. Dimitri Lamprou has been paying farmers in the area to grow grapes again using a disease resistant strain and organic methods. He has built a state-of-the-art winery in this village and has begun production of what I think is one of the best wines I have ever tasted. Of course I don't have the expertise of Mr Manessis, but I know what I like and I think if you try this wine you won't be disappointed.

The wine is called Methymneos and was available in Lesvos and by the time you read this may be available elsewhere in Greece and wherever you live too. In Athens you can find it at the Lesvos shop at 29 Athinas Street next to the Hotel Attalos and at many of the small wine bars that have sprung up downtown. Artspace Winery in Santorini When we went to Santorini several years ago we went with a friend to Artspace, a small winery in Exogonia owned by Antonis Argyros that was also an art gallery, who only produced about a thousand bottles a year mostly from the local Assyrtiko grapes. We returned in 2012 to find that he had expanded to about ten thousand bottles and had added a few new wines and even raki, which for those who don't know is like ouzo without anise. The building, which contains caves dug into the soft stone of Santorini, was formerly a tomato paste processing plant, owned by his father and a winery back in 1861.

Antonis has turned it into a museum with traditional wine-making equipment much of which he actually uses, and new modern equipment and he produces perhaps the best wine we had on the island. His grapes are organic too. If you can only visit one winery then I would suggest this one. Make sure to get a bottle of his Saint August and his Saint August Reserve which have become our staples after leaving the island with a suitcase full of them. These grapes are harvested in August, thus the name. Also his Nichteri is a wonderful dry red, maybe the best I have ever tasted. Unfortunately since I can't get Artspace wine in America I am forced to turn to other Assyrtiko producers. Luckily, since nobody in Greece can afford good bottled wine, a lot of it is being sent to the USA. There are a number of Assyrtiko wines by Estate Argyros ranging in price from about $10 for their Atlantis to $100. If you can't find anything by Argyros then look for Costa Lazaridis, Gaia Estate, Sigalas or Hadzidakis. Or just look for the word Assyrtiko on the front and an address in Santorini on the label somewhere.

Retsina - definition of retsina by The Free Dictionary Retsina - definition of retsina by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . ret·si·na A Greek white or rosé wine flavored with pine resin. [Modern Greek, probably from Italian resina, resin, from Latin rēsīna; see resin.] retsina (Brewing) a Greek wine flavoured with resin [Modern Greek, from Italian resina resin] ret•si•na a strong, resinated wine of Greece and Cyprus. [1935–40; < Modern Greek < Medieval Latin resina resin ] ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: retsina - Greek wine flavored with resin vino , wine - fermented juice (of grapes especially) Translations retsina n → Retsina m Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .

Link to this page: Holiday: A REAL GREEK DELIGHT You'll hear Greek being spoken as locals chat over a glass of retsina and you can tuck into traditional Greek dishes, including honey-soaked baklava. ARE YOU THE WEAKEST LINK? Special Easter lamb menus are served in tavernas and there are a lots of late nights when a few glasses of ouzo and retsina get everyone in the mood for dancing. IONIAN BREW; Drink in the best of the Greek islands with our to 10 guide of where to stay Join a picnic expedition out to the island of Samiopaula on Captain Nikos' boat, watch him bring the nets in then later eat the catch, washed down with retsina, on the wave-whipped shoreline. ThatsGreece.gr - Retsina Home » Greek Cuisine » Beverages » Spirits » Retsina Retsina Retsina is a type of Greek wine made ​​by adding pine resin into white wine. It is one of the most popular Greek spirits. It is usually made from inferior quality wine which is why its price is lower.

Retsina has been produced since ancianet times, because adding resin to wine contributed not only to the special flavor, but also to the better preservation. The unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels with Aleppo Pine resin in ancient times. Before the invention of sealed glass bottles, oxygen altered the wines' taste very quickly. To seal up the amphorae, ancient Greeks invented the use of pine resin, which helped keep air out, while at the same time infusing the wine with resin aroma. Popular stories about the evolution of retsina come from the Roman conquest of Greece. Stories claim that the Romans plundered the wines of Greece, angering the citizens who turned to pine resin as a way of extending their store of wine and as a deterrent to their thirsty conquerors. The harsh flavor was said to put off the Romans, who refused to drink the bitter ferment. Today the traditional grape for Retsina is Savatiano with Assyrtiko and Rhoditis sometimes blended in, as well as other grape varieties throughout Greece. Modern Retsina is made following the same winemaking techniques of white wine or rosé with the exception of small pieces of Aleppo Pine resin added to the must during fermentation.

The pieces stay mixed with the must, and elute an oily resin film on the liquid surface. at racking the wine is clarified and the solids and surface film are removed from the finished wine. Retsina wine. Retsina a traditional greek drink. · About Retsina etsina is a 100% Greek product. It is not produced in any other part of the world except Greece. Made for more than 3,000 years, this traditional Greek wine has been resinated treated with pine-tree resin. The resin gives the wine a distinctively sappy taste. oday, Retsina is produced in almost all parts of Greece, but the best is considered that of Attica. Retsinas are either white or rose and should be served cold. Retsina is ideal as an accompaniment for all types of Greek cuisine. Like most Greek beverages, it is undeniably at its best when combined with Greek foods, especially the savory mezedes served as appetizers. ome people, mostly non-Greeks, say that Retsina, is an acquired taste. Some other, say that Retsina has a flavor as "sappy and turpentine like".

We challenge you to try it! Because if you don't, you will never know what you are missing! The best is to try it in its native environment. Maybe then, you may well respond to it like a true Greek! About A Guide to Greek Wine Guide to Greek Wine I am a wine drinker. I drink ouzo too but generally I do that before dinner or else in Lesvos where it is more of a tradition then wine due to a blight that wiped out the grapes several hundred years ago. But my favorite activity is eating in a taverna with my friends and drinking wine. My favorite tavernas have their own wine, straight out of the barrels, which are usually stacked against the wall. We order it by the kilo and we can go through several kilos in an evening. Glasses are continually being refilled by each other without anything being said. It's like a reflex or second nature to fill your neighbors glass when you see it is empty. And when the carafe is empty someone at the table just lifts it in the air and catches the eye of a waiter, the busboy or even the owner of the restaurant and in thirty seconds it is full again.

Painting by Moriatis Retsina is my preferred wine and most of the time that is what is available in those barrels. But many tavernas also have an excellent red, or a white which is not resinated. Most restaurants are proud of their wine though not all the restaurants make their own. Some buy it from distillers by the barrel or by large jug, and in some touristy restaurants homemade wine, or hima, as it is called, is not even available and you have to take your chances with the wine list. There have been many explanations as to why retsina tastes the way it does. The explanation is because they put pine resin in it to make it taste like that and the reason is because they like the taste. Some people have come up with theories on how this all began. When we were kids we heard (from other kids of course) that during world war two the Greeks put the resin into the wine so the Germans would think it was turpentine and not drink it. That was a romantic theory but not a good one.

But according to Vassilis Kourtakis, who makes the most popular of the bottled retsina, the ancient Greeks knew that the air was the enemy of wine and used pine resin to seal the tops of the amphora and even added it to the wine itself. Retsina was the wine of Athens. As far back as the late 1800's Athens had over 6000 tavernas, all filled with wine barrels. The grapes were pressed in the countryside and then brought into the city by horse-drawn carts, before the fermentation had taken place and then taken to the restaurants where the proprietor poured in the resin and decided when the wine was ready. It was not until the 1960's that bottled retsina became available in the countryside and common in the city as many of the old tavernas disappeared and land for cultivating wine near Athens became scarce. Nowadays retsina from the barrel is hit or miss. But if you go to a taverna and it is full of happy Greek people drinking from glasses that are being refilled over and over again from a carafe then chances are the retsina is pretty good. When it's not, mix it with soda water like I do.

This also will enable you to drink all night long. One of the things I have noticed is that I can drink a lot of retsina and still not be hung over the next day. My kidneys may hurt like hell but otherwise I feel great, considering. THE ILLUSTRATED GREEK WINES BOOK I have a new hero. Nico Manessis has written an amazing book on Greek wines called THE ILLUSTRATED GREEK WINES BOOK which can be found in Athens at a small shop of Cretan goods on the corner of Nikis and Kydatheneon streets in the Plaka. The book is a labor of love and anyone with an interest in Greek wines should buy it and treasure it because not only will it be invaluable when confronted with a wine list in one of the more touristy restaurants, but you will end up spending a great amount of time reading the histories, descriptions and explanations of the world of Greek wine, a world that is just starting to be discovered. The following are the bottled Retsinas which Mr. Manessis favors: Boutaris: Light and fruity and lightly resonated. C.A.I.R.: Low acidity and soft. Refreshing with a light touch and sweetness that sticks to the gums.

Cambas: Medium pungency and a good Savatiano finish. Gaia: The most refined bottled retsina on the market. Traditionalists find it heretic but those new to retsina like it just fine. Kourtakis: The market leader, medium to strong pungency and is sold world-wide. Malamamatinas: Pungent and popular labels from northern Greece sometimes mixed with soda water to individual taste. Thebes Co-op: Excellent, dependable and refreshing Tsantalis: Medium pungent and popular with Germans Tyrnavos Co-op: Faint muscat aroma, one of the finest retsinas on the market. They make two: Retsinaki and Ampelophyllo. These are my faves (next to hima from the barrel of course) Vrettos: This is my favorite and can be found only at Vrettos Distillery on Kydatheneon street in the Plaka. Karela: This wine comes from Patras and is sold in the USA in 4-liter bottles wrapped in a basket. I don't know if you can find it where you live or in Greece.

Favorite Wines of Nico Manessis These are the wines Nico Manessis has rated four-star and above. You won't find them everywhere and when you do they won't be cheap. If you are interested in tasting the large variety of wines in Greece I urge you to purchase this book which reviews hundreds of wines in all different varieties. If you wish to purchase this book before you go to Greece try e-mailing Olive Press Publications at olivepress@ath.forthnet.gr Antonopoulos Chardonnay: Green gold in color. Lime and sweet oak on the nose. Lemon fruity richness-a palate full of roasted hazelnuts. Elegant. World class. Antonopoulos 1997 Cabernet-Nea Dris: Playful nose features eucalyptus and red berries. Balanced, multi-layered, ripe tannins. Dazzling concentration, freshness and depth. Best from 2002. Arghyros 1998 Santorini Vareli: Nose reminiscent of Chardonnay and lemon. Spice and white pepper on the palate. Yeasty. Toasty. Atypical. A cosmopolitan Santorini. World Class.

Dalmaras 1992 Naoussa: Deep color. A complete nose alternating mulberry and leather. Compact, velvety smooth tannins have a gamy richness. A great bottle, best from 2000. 1997 Gaia Estate: Delivering both power and velvety texture, this serious, fine, unfiltered wine has raised the stakes in the Nemea Appellation. Best after 2004. The 1998 vintage-tasted in cask- is even more concentrated. Lazaridis Amethystos Cava: Almost black. Pure fruit evokes the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Skillful use of oak. Exquisite, long, smoky end-taste. Unfiltered. Much finesse. Tselepos 1998 Mantinia: Seductive, exotic, floral nose. Violets bursting with grapes and fruit on the palate. Extended bone-dry Muscat aftertaste and searing acidity that goes on and on. A bold Mantinia from this ultra-ripe vintage. Matt's Favorite Wine The island of Lesvos was renown in antiquity for it's wine.

It is claimed the island had the finest soil and climate for growing grapes and the wine from Lesvos was the most treasured in the wine cellars of the Byzantine Emperor. Unfortunately a blight killed all the grapes on the island and wine-making on Lesvos died out, one reason why ouzo is now the drink of choice there. But in the remote agricultural village of Xidera something very special has happened. Dimitri Lampou has been paying farmers in the area to grow grapes again using a disease resistant strain. He has built a state-of-the-art winery in this village and has begun production of what I think is one of the best red wines I have ever tasted. Of course I don't have the expertise of Mr Manessis, but I know what I like and I think if you try this wine you won't be disappointed. The wine is called Methemnaos and was available in Lesvos and by the time you read this may be available elsewhere in Greece too.

7 Reasons to Love Greek Wines David Rosengarten posted Jul 14th, 2010 at 12:00am Cephas Picture Library/Alamy The vine did not originate in Greece; it's likely that the Caucasus, to the east, had that honor. But the ancient Greeks were making wine from grapes long before most civilizations, maybe as early as 7000 B.C. And yet, many Americans' knowledge of the country's viticulture begins and ends with retsina, the popular white wine flavored with pine resin. Finally, things are beginning to change: many Greek winemakers have started attracting international attention for their sophisticated wines, which exemplify the great crispness that makes Greek whites such natural partners to seafood and the balanced restraint that suits Greek reds so well to lamb and grilled foods. There are plenty of reasons to embrace Greek wine; below are seven of my favorites. Native White Grapes Greek wine growers are learning to maximize the potential of their indigenous white grapes, knowing that a little bit of mountain air, and a willingness to pick the grapes before they swell to cumbersome ripeness, create crackling-crisp white wines that are gorgeous with many Greek mezedes and with seafood.

The big star is moschofilero, a variety from the central Peloponnese that creates orange blossom-scented wines that are racy on the palate, light and airy, and possessed of a bracing acidity. My favorite is the 2009 Semeli Mountain Sun White ($12); it has a nose touched with white pepper, and a clear, crisp palate. Robola, roditis, and savatiano are other exciting white varieties. The 2009 Ambelones from Domaine Vassiliou ($17), produced east of Athens, is a blend of sweet savatiano and melony roditis; low in alcohol (12 percent), it has a memorable lime-leaf quality and fine acidity. Great Roses Many Greek rose producers pack their wine with lots of fruit, yet the wines show an uncommon lightness and elegance at the same time. Excellent roses are being made from north to south in Greece. One of my top choices is the dry Kir-Yianni Rose Akakies ($17), from Amyndeon in Macedonia, in the north.

The 2009 has lovely melon and tomato aromas, plus a palate that uncannily combines grip and refreshment. Another winner is the 2009 Gaia 14-18h Rose ($16), from the Peloponnese; it has a playful, Barbie-pink hue and one of the liveliest watermelon-pear noses I've ever sniffed. The island of Crete has recently emerged as a rose star; the Douloufakis winery there combines the local red grape kotsifali with syrah to create a dry 2009 Enotria Rose ($14) with bounce and acid. Big Reds with Nuance Greek red wines are traditionally light-hued and light-bodied, but today a cadre of pioneering winemakers are deepening their wines' color, fruit, and texture in deference to 21st-century tastes, without creating jammy, grandstanding New World-style reds. The most famous area for richer reds from indigenous grapes is Nemea, southwest of Athens, a stronghold of Greece's breakout red grape, agiorgitiko.

The 2008 Averoff Fresco ($13) is a delightful choice, full-bodied but fruity and easy to quaff. A bit more structured, the 2008 Nemea from Domaine Harlaftis ($10) is a medium-dark purple wine with plum and leafy-green notes. The 2006 Gaia Estate ($50), from one of Greece's most important wineries, has a wonderful mineral and ripe black currant nose and a marvelous concentration that will mellow beautifully with 10 to 15 years of aging. The refosco grape, which came to Greece more than 150 years ago from Friuli, Italy, is another heavy hitter; Domaine Mercouri's 2006 Estate Red ($25) from the Peloponnese is dark garnet with a nose of leather, spice, and chocolate. Xinomavro My favorite Greek reds, hands down, are made from the native xinomavro grape. It's cultivated all over northern Greece, but its epicenter is the region surrounding the town of Naoussa, my personal Shangri-la of red wine in Greece.

Like a classic burgundy or barolo, the best xinomavros yield an exquisitely complex nose and age beautifully. When xinomavro wine is young, it's light-bodied, shows mellow fruit (strawberries or raspberries), and has soft tannins that are superlative with grilled foods. Excellent introductions are the 2006 Kir-Yianni Ramnista ($30), with its red-fruit nose layered with smoke, and the light and tender 2006 Karydas Naoussa ($26). As xinomavro ages, something extraordinary happens; the wine lurches into tomato territory—we're talking ripe tomato, even tomato jam. And as it reaches full maturity, xinomavro develops hints of earth, white truffle, cedar, even tobacco. Old xinomavro is one of the wine world's great thrills, and luckily, some old ones are available in the United States. The 2000 Vaeni Grand Reserve ($23) delivers a compelling mingling of tomato, cherry, and tobacco aromas and a lean, slightly green, exotically complex flavor.

The 2003 Grande Reserve Naoussa from Boutari ($25) carries a lovely fruit nose, with hints of leather and tomato. Wines of Santorini The island of Santorini, in the southern Aegean Sea, is a mound of volcanic rock with mineral-rich soil, whipped by strong winds that have prompted the winemakers to train their vines to curl into rounded "baskets" hugging the dirt. This fine marriage of fruit and terrain yields dry, austere wines made from the assyrtiko grape that manage to be both rich and steely at the same time. To taste Santorini assyrtiko at its best, try Gaia's vibrant 2008 Thalassitis ($26) and the bone-dry, lemony 2009 Argyros Assyrtiko ($26). Dessert Wines Late-harvest, sweet wines from Greece have always had a market; syrupy muscats from the Greek islands, for example, have been coveted across Europe since the Middle Ages.

The most famous island for dessert muscat is Samos; my favorite bottle is the super-concentrated Samos Nectar ($28), made by the island's winemaking cooperative; it has a tawny color and blazes with a raisiny, caramel nose. Another duly venerated Greek dessert wine is the vin santo from Santorini, made from that island's storied assyrtiko grapes (see above), some of which have been dried in the sun to concentrate their flavors. Try the 2003 Sigalas Vinsanto Santorini ($50); it has an alluring amber color, a viscous texture, and tropical fruit flavors. Real Retsina I love that retsina is born of a 2,000-year-old tradition, held over from the days when amphorae of white wine had their stoppers sealed with pine resin. But I love even more that the rasp of the resin is so harmonious with kalamata olives, feta, and many other Greek foods. If you don't like retsina, it may be because unscrupulous producers have long used the resin to cover the taste of oxidized wine.

But find a fresh and graceful version, such as the inexpensive Malamatina ($4) from Macedonia, and a lightbulb is sure to go off. Better still, seek out retsinas from Greece's best-known winemakers; the astonishing Gaia Ritinitis Nobilis ($16) has the concentrated feel and complexity of a grand wine, with just a hint of high-quality resin from Greece's Aleppo pines. Tags:

Question: Which famous Greek wine is flavoured with pine resin?
Answer: RETSINA